ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Air Quality

Jonathan Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which organisations are responsible for monitoring air quality.

Alun Michael: In England, legal responsibility for monitoring ambient air quality lies with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. In addition the Environment Agency is responsible for ambient air quality monitoring arrangements in relation to regulated industrial processes in England and Wales. Local authorities are responsible for reviewing and assessing ambient air quality in their areas. This usually includes some monitoring of key pollutants. Defra manages the United Kingdom ambient air quality monitoring network on behalf of the Government and the devolved administrations.

Air Quality

Jonathan Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what air quality targets have been set by her Department over the last five years;
	(2)  what procedure is followed to review air quality targets;
	(3)  what plans she has to implement higher air quality targets.

Alun Michael: The Government set out their targets for safeguarding people's health and protecting the environment from air pollution in the Air Quality Strategy for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which was first published in 1997 and revised in January 2000. The strategy includes health-based standards for benzene, 1,3-butadiene, carbon monoxide, lead, particles, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and low level ozone. It also includes policy objectives for each pollutant to be achieved between 2003 and 2008. On 5 August 2002 we announced tighter objectives for particles, benzene and carbon monoxide and introduced a new objective for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
	Section 20 of the Environment Act 1995 requires the Secretary of State to keep the Air Quality Strategy and its standards, objectives and measures under regular review. The Secretary of State is required to consult with a wide range of interests and organisations on any proposals to modify the strategy. We carried out a comprehensive review of the overall strategy and its objectives between 1997 and 1999. A further review began in 2000, concentrating on strengthening three of the current objectives and adding an objective for a new pollutant. We intend that the next review, which is likely to begin during 2003, should focus more on progress towards meeting the objectives, rather than on objectives themselves. Should new evidence emerge, however, which indicates that existing air quality targets should be amended, or new ones introduced, this will be taken into account in future reviews.

Countryside Stewardship Scheme

Alan Hurst: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many participants there are in the Countryside Stewardship scheme (a) in England and (b) in each of the English regions.

Alun Michael: The total number of Countryside Stewardship scheme agreement holders within England as at October 2001 was 14,225. This is broken down by Government Office region as follows:
	
		
			 Region Number of agreements 
		
		
			 East Midlands 1,540 
			 Eastern 1,632 
			 Greater London 68 
			 North East 954 
			 North West 1,629 
			 South East 2,016 
			 South West 3,147 
			 West Midlands 1,511 
			 Yorkshire/Humberside 1,728 
			  
			 Total 14,225

Rights of Way

Doug Naysmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when her Department will make an announcement on whether the new rights of access under Part 1 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 will be implemented on a regional basis; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: I am strongly in favour of implementing the new rights of access to open country on a region by region basis but additional costs and organisational issues have to be addressed. Work is currently being undertaken to make sure that early commencement is a practical proposition. Our aim is to make this historic new right a reality as soon as is practicable and I shall announce a decision shortly.

Slaughter Premium Scheme Payments

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farm businesses were in receipt of slaughter premium during each of the last three years.

Alun Michael: Information is available only on the number of producers who received slaughter premium scheme payments. These details are set out in the table. Because the scheme in Great Britain was administered by different Government Departments in relation to the over and under thirty-month elements of the scheme, there is an element of double counting. Full details are given in the footnotes.
	
		Number of producers to receive payment under the Slaughter Premium Scheme
		
			  2000(1) 2001(2) 2002(3) 
		
		
			 England
			 Adult  33,264 29,076 
			 UTM(1) 30,560   
			 OTM(1) 26,090   
			 Veal 75 825 490 
			 Total
			 
			 Wales
			 Adult  8,178 6,886 
			 UTM(1) 5,322   
			 OTM(1) 7,137   
			 Veal 14 112 78 
			 Total
			 
			 Scotland
			 Adult   7,776 
			 UTM(1) 5,566 6,561  
			 OTM(1) 6,006 4,963  
			 Veal 2 0 16 
			 Total
			 
			 Northern Ireland
			 Adult 19,898 19,286 11,873 
			 Veal 243 217 97 
			 Total
		
	
	(1) UTM = under thirty months. OTM = over thirty months.
	(2) The figures quoted here are the number of producers who have received payments.
	(3) The 2002 scheme is still open. The figures quoted are the number of producers who have submitted claims for premium so far.
	Notes:
	England and Wales
	During the 2000 scheme year, the Slaughter Premium Scheme for England and Wales was administered as two separate schemes. The UTM element for England was administered by the then Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF), and the OTM and UTM element was administered by the then Intervention Board. In 2001, these elements were combined for producers in England and Wales.
	Scotland
	During the 2000 and 2001 scheme years, the OTM element of the scheme was administered by the Intervention Board, and latterly, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA). Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department (SEERAD) administered the UTM element. In 2002, SEERAD took over the full responsibility for both elements and combined them to run as one adult scheme.
	Northern Ireland
	Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) have administered the adult scheme as one element since the 2000 scheme year.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Cyprus

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the new UN plan for a settlement in Cyprus; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: The British Government received a copy of the UN Secretary-General's proposals for a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem on 11 November in our capacity as a Guarantor Power of Cyprus. We will be studying these proposals carefully, particularly in so far as they affect our responsibilities under the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, and will be responding to Kofi Annan in due course.
	The Government warmly welcome the UN Secretary-General's decision to table his proposals for bridging the remaining gaps after the months of negotiations between the two sides. We believe this is a timely initiative which we will be giving our full support.
	As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary said in a press statement on 11 November, the British Government believe that there is now the best chance to solve the Cyprus Problem in decades, and that this opportunity is not likely to recur in the foreseeable future. We will be working with all those concerned for a positive outcome.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further information he has received from the UN in relation to the allegations set out in the UN Panel of Experts report on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the DRC.

Bill Rammell: We have requested more information from the UN, but have not yet received a response.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to introduce targeted sanctions against businesses or individuals profiting from the trade in conflict goods as referred to in paragraph 143 of the final report of the Panel of Experts on the alleged exploitation of natural resources and other kinds of wealth of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Bill Rammell: The proposal to introduce targeted sanctions is one of a wide range of recommendations made by the UN expert panel report being considered by Whitehall departments. In consultations at the UN on 13 November, a number of states asked for more information to be made available to substantiate the report's allegations. The UK has also asked the UN directly for more information, but has not yet received a response.
	At the 13 November consultations, the UN panel's chairman—Ambassador Kassem—restated that the panel would recommend a grace period of 5–6 months before imposing any sanctions, to allow the accused individuals and companies a chance to change their working practices.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to follow the recommendations set out in paragraph 176 of the report of the UN Panel of Experts in request of companies and individuals listed in Annex 1 and 11 of the report whose operations are carried out in whole or in part of the UK.

Bill Rammell: The recommendations made by the UN Expert Panel report are being considered by Whitehall Departments. At Security Council consultations on 13 November, a number of states asked that more information be made available to substantiate the report's allegations. The UK has also asked the UN for more information directly, but has not yet received a response.

IT Security

Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to review the security of the Department's IT system; and how many digital attacks there were on the Department's system in (a) October and (b) 2002.

Bill Rammell: FCO IT security advisers have carried out limited reviews of the FCO's IT system in the UK. A full penetration test will be conducted on the upgraded system in 2003.
	The number of cases of digital attacks detected was (a) nil in October and (b) nil in 2002.

John Bredenkamp

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations British Government officials in (a) Zimbabwe and (b) other African countries have received over the last two years from John Bredenkamp and other representatives of ACS with regard to the sale of military equipment manufactured by BAe Systems; and when such representatives were received.

Bill Rammell: None since the UK arms embargo of May 2000.

Zimbabwe

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will launch an investigation into the supply of spare parts for the Zimbabwean Air Force's Mark 60 Hawk fighters.

Bill Rammell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 4 November 2002, Official Report, column 72W.

Zimbabwe

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on what legislative and other changes he proposes to make to the sanctions arrangements in relation to Zimbabwe.

Bill Rammell: EU sanctions on Zimbabwe have been extended twice since 18 February, on 22 July and 13 September. We keep the policy under constant review.

Zimbabwe

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  whether British Government officials in (a) Zimbabwe and (b) other African countries have had discussions over the last two years with John Bredenkamp (i) with regard to facilitating sales of military equipment from the UK and (ii) other matters;
	(2)  what discussions his Department has had with BAE Systems concerning the supply of spare parts to the Zimbabwean Air Force for their Mark 60 Hawk fighters.

Bill Rammell: In the last 12 months, we are aware of two meetings and two telephone conversations between John Bredenkamp and British High Commission officials in Zimbabwe, all at Mr. Bredenkamp's initiative. In one meeting, Mr. Bredenkamp raised the allegations that had been made against him in the House on 6 March.
	We are not aware of any conversations between Mr. Bredenkamp and officials in other African countries. I will write to the hon. Member if I receive any further relevant information.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

BBC (Scotland)

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with the Director-General of the BBC concerning the BBC's forthcoming review of news and current affairs output in Scotland.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend has not held any such discussions with the Director-General of the BBC.

Alcohol Licences

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment her Department has made of the additional cost to local authorities if responsibility for alcohol licences is transferred from the magistrates courts.

Kim Howells: There will be no additional burden on local authorities. Following the transfer of responsibility for alcohol licensing from the licensing justices to local authorities as proposed in the Licensing Bill, licensing fees will be set at a level that fully recovers the costs to local authorities and industry.

Charter Marks (Libraries)

Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many public libraries have received a Charter Mark award.

Richard Caborn: 61 Charter Marks have been awarded to library services since the scheme came into operation 10 years ago.

National Lottery

Nick Palmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she has received on improvements to the distribution of lottery grants.

Tessa Jowell: We have received over 400 responses to the review of Lottery funding consultation paper launched in July. These include views from voluntary and community organisations, charities, local government, hon. Members, distributors and individual members of the public.

Licensing Hours

Colin Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to tackle binge-drinking associated with the 11 o'clock closing of pubs.

Kim Howells: The Licensing Bill will introduce flexible opening hours—with the potential for up to 24 hour opening seven days a week, although we expect most premises to extend their opening hours to a more modest extent. This will discourage the culture of binge-drinking before last orders, stimulate a more mature attitude towards alcohol consumption, and help reduce public disorder resulting from artificially early fixed closing times.

School Sport

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what support the Government is giving to sport in schools.

Richard Caborn: #459 million is being invested by DCMS and DfES to transform physical education, school sport and club links over the next three years. The funding will help deliver a joint DfES/DCMS Public Service Agreement target to increase the percentage of children who spend at least two hours a week on high quality PE and school sport in and beyond school—to 75 per cent. by 2006.

Youth Sport

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what measures she intends to take to improve sports opportunities for young people.

Richard Caborn: We are working with DfES, Sport England, governing bodies and other partners to transform sports opportunities for young people both in school and in their communities. Initiatives include building on the foundations of the Specialist Sports College and School Sport Co-ordinator programmes, investing in local sports clubs facilities and junior provision and improving the range and quality of provision for gifted and talented young sports people.

Youth Sport

Phil Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her Department has done to improve participation rates of young people in sporting activities.

Richard Caborn: The Government is supporting a variety of initiatives to encourage and assist participation in sport by young people. For example, in September 2002 some 750 school sport co-ordinators and 3,500 primary or special school link teachers were in place working in 142 partnerships across England. In the community, the 45 county sports partnerships have developed 279 junior sport development plans and Sport England has been helping young people to improve their sporting skills through a co-ordinated programme that will provide access to organised sport.

Tourism

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the promotion of UK tourism, while respecting the district identities of Scotland, England and Wales.

Kim Howells: On 31 October we announced plans to develop a lead Government body for inbound tourism to Britain and the marketing of England within Britain. This will create a more coherent marketing focus across Britain, one that ensures that England, Scotland and Wales retain and develop strong separate brand identities to attract both domestic and overseas holidaymakers.

Under-age Drinking

Bob Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what measures she is taking to clamp down on under-age drinking.

Kim Howells: The licensing Bill has a clear focus on protecting children from harm. For the first time, it will be an offence to sell alcohol anywhere to under 18s. In addition, the package of measures in the White Paper, around which the Bill is based, made provision to legalise test purchasing to aid enforcement.

Museums and Galleries

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what measures her Department is taking to improve museums and galleries in the regions.

Tessa Jowell: We will be providing #70 million for regional museums from this year until 2005–06.
	Extra funding will also be made available to the national museums to enable them to work in partnership with regional museums. Additionally there will be funds from the Department for Education and Skills to support museums' education.

Elite Athletes

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the world class performance funding programme.

Richard Caborn: This is a lottery funded programme which supports the training and preparation programmes for elite athletes who have the potential to win medals, or equivalent, in significant international competitions and events such as the Olympics and Paralympics, now and within the next four years. UK Sport provides funds to UK governing bodies for athletes who compete exclusively or primarily for the UK or Great Britain, while Sport England funds English governing bodies for athletes who represent England.

Elgin Marbles

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to visit Athens to discuss the issue of the Parthenon Sculptures with the Greek Government.

Tessa Jowell: I have no plans to visit Greece. However, my right hon. Friend the Minister for Sport will be visiting Greece in December when I hope that he will have the opportunity to meet the Greek Under Secretary for Culture to discuss other cultural issues.

Football

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether she will make a statement on the future governance of football in England.

Richard Caborn: The Football Association remains the overall governing body for football in England. The Association will shortly begin the process of appointing a new Chief Executive, and that is no concern of the Government. The Independent Football Commission will continue its important work of considering complaints made against the Association, and football's other governing bodies, under the sport's customer service charters.

Sporting and Fitness Activities

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health about increasing the effectiveness of preventive health care through the encouragement of greater national participation in sporting and fitness activities.

Richard Caborn: I chair monthly cross-governmental ministerial meetings, attended by Ministers from the Department of Health, where issues relating to sports policy are discussed, including the role that greater participation in sport and physical activity can have in improving health. My Department has also been working closely with the Department of Health to ensure effective coordination of sport and health policy.

Media Regulation

Clive Soley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent meetings she has had with the Press Complaints Commission about regulation of the media.

Kim Howells: Whilst my right hon. Friend has not met with the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) recently, the Department continues to monitor closely the effectiveness of the newspaper industry's self regulatory system, and my Ministerial colleagues and I have no hesitation in suggesting improvements to the PCC and the industry, as and when appropriate.

Local Radio

Chris Pond: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to ensure that independent local radio reflects the identity of local communities.

Kim Howells: We recognise the importance of maintaining the distinctive local basis of commercial radio. We therefore propose to retain key local ownership rules, and to give Ofcom a duty to protect and promote local content.

Young Artists

Anne Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what financial support is available to young British artists.

Kim Howells: The Arts Council of England has provided #1.5 million over the last three years for developing and supporting individual artists. In addition, ACE funds a number of organisations to provide studio space, resource and training to artists like Studio Space in London which receives #60,000 per annum and offers 400 studios to artists. The Government has also invested #40 million in Creative Partnerships which will help develop the artists of the future.

Olympic Games

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent representations and discussions she has had about a potential London bid for the 2012 Olympics.

Richard Caborn: Officials from my Department have held regular meetings during this year with all the key stakeholders to discuss the implications of London bidding to host the 2012 Olympic Games. These stakeholders were the Greater London Authority, the British Olympic Association, UK Sport and Sport England. In addition all interested Government Departments have been involved in assessing the ARUP report on the Costs and Benefits of a 2012 London Olympic Bid. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has met the Mayor of London and will meet the British Olympic Association and other non-government stakeholders to discuss the practicalities of such a bid.

DEFENCE

Bullying

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps has he taken to eliminate bullying from HM armed forces.

Lewis Moonie: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 4 November 2002, Official Report, column 57W, by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces to my hon. Friend the Member for Selby (Mr. Grogan).

Service Personnel

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many are serving in each of HM armed forces; how many of these are serving in (a) Great Britain, (b) Northern Ireland, (c) Germany and (d) each other overseas posting.

Lewis Moonie: I refer my hon. Friend to Tri-Service Publication (TSP) 6 Global Location of Service Personnel. A copy of which is held in the Library of the House.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Basic Education

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on progress in meeting the global aim of a basic education for every child by 2015; in which countries her Department supports education; and what recent evaluation her Department has made of the impact of her Department's programmes on meeting its education targets.

Clare Short: We recognise the huge importance of the education and gender equality targets within the Millennium Development Goals. We have fully achieved the goals in this area set in our current Public Service Agreement, but there is a huge challenge in getting to the 2015 objectives. Our willingness to put more resources into universal primary education is demonstrated by our new PSA target (20 million more children in schools in 20 countries by 2006), and by plans for support to education. This forecast support for basic education amounts to #1.3 billion over the next five years, either through education sector support or direct budget support. Of this, about #500 million will go to Africa and #800 million to Asia. The figure of #1.3 billion forecast for the next five years exceeds the #700 million committed to UPE since 1997. These spending figures are forecasts, not targets or commitments, and depend on agreeing high quality programmes with our partners.

Education

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans are in place to maintain the quality of education in the commitment to reach the millennium target on improving access to education.

Clare Short: Improving the quality of education is recognised as a key requirement of national education policies. Quality issues are therefore addressed in all our education programmes in developing countries.

Fast Track Education Initiative

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what financial support her Department has provided to the fast track education initiative established by the World bank.

Clare Short: We are working to improve the fast track initiative so that it is embedded in country-led processes. We will provide support within our overall programme of support for Education for All. This means that there must be respect for local priorities and integration into poverty reduction strategy and medium-term economic framework processes. There must also be a recognition that money is only one ingredient in achieving progress and, that in many cases, significant absorptive capacity problems must be addressed before additional funds can be used effectively. There also needs to be much more emphasis on the five high population countries (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria and DRC) where so many of the out-of-school children are. A substantial proportion of the #1.3 billion, which we are forecasting to spend on basic education over the next five years, will be committed in fast track countries, particularly these five.

Fast Track Education Initiative

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what contribution her Department is making to the G8 education fast track initiative in low income countries;
	(2)  what progress is being made towards the selection of additional low income countries for inclusion in the G8 education fast track initiative;
	(3)  what progress has been made towards the implementation of the G8 education fast track initiative in low income countries.

Clare Short: Our forecast support for basic education amounts to #1.3 billion over the next five years, either through education sector support or direct budget support. Of this, about #500million will go to Africa and #800million to Asia. A substantial proportion will go to low income countries included within the Fast Track Initiative, notably to the five high population countries with large numbers of children out of school (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, DRC) which the Government successfully pressed to have included in the initiative. These spending figures are forecasts, not targets or commitments, and depend on agreeing high quality programmes with our partners.
	Countries vary in the rate of progress they are making in preparing their proposals for fast track support. The UK is stressing that it is important to get the process right rather than to rush ahead with ill-prepared plans. We are therefore working to ensure that the initiative is rooted in existing country processes and that proposals are consistent with each country's medium-term expenditure framework and poverty reduction strategy.

Democatic Republic of the Congo

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on whether she plans to make aid disbursements to Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda conditional on compliance with relevant agreements in the Lusaka peace process and on verifiable measures taken to halt the illegal and illicit exploitation of the resources of the Democratic Republic of the Congo as recommended by the report of the UN Panel of Experts.

Clare Short: Compliance with the terms of Lusaka and other regional peace agreements has been taken into account in assessing the nature and scale of our development partnerships with Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda, and their responses to the UN Panel report will be factored into future assessments. The recent decisions by the Rwandan and Ugandan Governments to withdraw their forces from the DRC have been significant and very positive contributions to the fulfilment of the Lusaka accord and to the goal of peace in the DRC.

Afghanistan

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much money was pledged by Her Majesty's Government to Afghanistan to help rebuild that country since October 2001; how much money has been paid by Her Majesty's Government to bodies in Afghanistan tasked with rebuilding that country; what percentage of money pledged to Afghanistan was promised to non-governmental organisations; and what percentage of money pledged to NGOs in the rebuilding of Afghanistan has been paid.

Clare Short: At the international donor conference in Tokyo in January 2002, the UK Government pledged #200 million of Department for International Development (DFID) resources over five years for humanitarian and reconstruction needs in Afghanistan. This was in addition to the approximately #60 million DFID had provided to address the immediate humanitarian need since October 2001. For the current financial year DFID have allocated #65 million for Afghanistan, of which just over half has been disbursed. Of this #7.7 million has been allocated directly to NGOs, of which over 95 per cent. has been disbursed. My Department have made significant contributions towards UN humanitarian appeals, which are putting into place important foundations for Afghanistan's longer term reconstruction. #10 million has been paid into the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund to help meet the costs of the Afghanistan Transitional Authority.

PRIME MINISTER

Appointments

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Prime Minister what plans there are for the Independent Appointments Commission to make further appointments of non-party political peers to the House of Lords.

Tony Blair: The make-up of the House of Lords is kept constantly under review.

Correspondence

Graham Allen: To ask the Prime Minister if he will place in the Library a table of his Departments' performance in replying to Members' correspondence.

Tony Blair: The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the volume of Members' correspondence received by Departments. The report for 2001 was published on Friday 24 May 2002, Official Report, column 674W. Copies of previous reports are available in the Library of the House. The report for 2002 will be published as soon as possible after the end of the current calendar year.
	For information about the handling of correspondence within my own office, I refer my honourable Friend to my reply to the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Mr. Burstow) on 7 November 2002, Official Report, column 444W.

Gibraltar

Iris Robinson: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the result of the referendum in Gibraltar.

Tony Blair: We have always been clear, as I reaffirmed to the House on 6 November, that no deal will be imposed on the people of Gibraltar against their will. Our aim remains a better future for Gibraltar and resolution of the problems it faces. We will continue our dialogue with Spain and Gibraltar to this end.

Gifts

Alan Williams: To ask the Prime Minister what the ceiling is on the value of gifts which may be retained by Ministers when they are undertaking official visits.

Tony Blair: Guidance on the acceptance of gifts is set out in paragraphs 136 to 138 of the Ministerial Code.

Leak Inquiries

Graham Allen: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make it his practice to decide whether to comment on leak inquiries on a case-by-case basis.

Tony Blair: No. In order to safeguard security and investigative arrangements, it has been the practice of successive governments not to comment on the conduct and outcome of leak inquiries.

Legal Advice

Graham Allen: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make it his policy to put the legal advice given to Government in the Library, when appropriate.

Tony Blair: There is a longstanding convention, followed by successive Governments and reflected in the ministerial code, that legal advice to the Government remains confidential. This enables Government to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence, as everyone else can.

Ministerial Code

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Prime Minister whether he has amended paragraph 27 of the Ministerial Code relating to current announcements.

Tony Blair: The Government's position on paragraph 27 of the Ministerial Code remains as set out in its response to the second report of the Public Administration Select Committee on the Ministerial Code (HC 439).

Ministerial Code

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Prime Minister what guidance he gives to Ministers who are in breach of the Ministerial Code relating to public announcements.

Tony Blair: As section 1 of the Ministerial Code makes clear, Ministers are accountable to Parliament for their decisions and action. This includes the content and timing of individual announcements.

Ministerial Travel

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Prime Minister what the total cost to the Government was of chartering (a) RAF and (b) civil aircraft for ministerial travel between 31 March 2001 and 31 March 2002.

Tony Blair: The overall cost of Ministers' visits overseas and the annual list of overseas visits by Cabinet Ministers costing more than #500 for the period 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002 were published on 24 July 2002, Official Report, column 1373W. The list provides details of the occasions in which RAF aircraft or private charter flights were used and the cost.

Parliamentary Questions

Graham Allen: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  if he will list the areas of written questioning on which he will not answer written questions in this session;
	(2)  if he will undertake a review of the areas of written questions which his Departments do not provide answers to.

Tony Blair: Ministers' responsibilities are set out in the XList of Ministerial Responsibilities". Answers to Parliamentary Questions are provided in accordance with the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Code.

Press Briefings

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Prime Minister what embargos are in place relating to press notices concerning legislation to be proposed in the Queen's Speech; and if he will make a statement on his policy relating to briefing the press, with special reference to the Extradition Bill.

Tony Blair: Background notes relating to the Queen's Speech are issued to parliamentary journalists at 0930 hours on the day of the speech. These notes are strictly embargoed until after Her Majesty the Queen has completed her Speech. This has been the practice of this Government and previous Administrations. No background note was issued in relation to the Extradition Bill, which did not appear in the Queen's Speech, and the Home Office held a briefing for journalists on the day the Bill was published.

Royal Prerogative

Graham Allen: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the powers which he may exercise under the Royal Prerogative; and if he will make it his policy to (a) keep a list of his use of Royal Prerogative powers and (b) place it in the Library each year.

Tony Blair: Records are not kept of the individual occasions on which powers under the Royal Prerogative are exercised, nor could it be practicable to do so.

Security Services

Graham Allen: To ask the Prime Minister if he will publish the full accounts of the Security Services.

Tony Blair: No. It is long-standing Government policy not to comment on details of intelligence and security matters. While the overall budget of the Security and Intelligence Agencies is made public in the Single Intelligence Account, the budgets of the individual agencies are not. The Intelligence and Security Committee scrutinises the detail of each agency's finances on Parliament's behalf.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Former Icelandic Water Trawlermen

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many refused claims for compensation for former Icelandic water trawlermen are awaiting (a) first appeal and (b) a decision by the independent adjudicator.

Nigel Griffiths: At present there are 248 claims awaiting a decision on initial queries against the decision of the Watford Office. There are 71 appeals awaiting the decision of the Independent Adjudicator.

Former Icelandic Water Trawlermen

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many appeals from former Icelandic water trawlermen have been dealt with by the independent adjudicator.

Nigel Griffiths: 366 appeals have been dealt with by the Independent Adjudicator.

Former Icelandic Water Trawlermen

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many refused claims for compensation for former Icelandic water trawlermen have been overturned (a) at first appeal and (b) by the independent adjudicator.

Nigel Griffiths: 414 queries against the decision of the Watford office have been allowed. Of these, 92 were because of the change in the rules concerning fishing after 1979. 36 appeals have been allowed by the Independent Adjudicator, a number of them because of the change in the scheme rules after the Watford Office considered them.

TRANSPORT

Air Transport Consultation

John Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if the ultimate recommendation for the future of Birmingham airport will be drawn from and confined to the three options set out in the Government's consultation document.

David Jamieson: We are consulting on a range of development options throughout the midlands, including at Birmingham international airport. No decisions have yet been taken and no final view will be taken on any option until we have taken full account of the consultation responses.
	The purpose of a proper consultation is to seek views from a wide range of stakeholders and, as part of their formal responses, different options may be brought forward. We would need to consider and assess the merits of any other option as a necessary part of the consultation process.

Air Transport Consultation

John Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when answers will be given to written inquiries from members of the public regarding the air transport consultation process with particular reference to questions submitted to him in writing during the first week of October.

David Jamieson: To date, we have received over 25,000 letters from the public on the midlands options alone. My officials are cataloguing each letter and drafting responses as quickly as practicable.

Buses

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average age is of the UK bus fleet.

John Spellar: The average age of the bus and coach fleet in Great Britain was 8.4 years in June 2002. The age profile of the GB fleet is published in the Department's quarterly Transport statistics bulletin bus quality indicators, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.

Cyclists and Pedestrians

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people have received hospital treatment in each of the last five years following collisions between cyclists and pedestrians.

David Jamieson: Information is not available on the number of people who have received hospital treatment as a result of road accidents. The Department's statistics of road casualties identifies those who were Xseriously injured"—which includes those who were detained in hospital as an in-patient, as well as those who suffered a range of other injuries whether or not they were detained in hospital.
	The number of people seriously injured in collisions between cyclists and pedestrians in Great Britain for each of the last five years is listed in the following table:
	
		
			 Year Seriously injured 
		
		
			 2001 57 
			 2000 65 
			 1999 75 
			 1998 85 
			 1997 90

Disabled People (Parking)

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  when the review of the disabled persons' parking card scheme will be completed; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will publish the response and recommendations of the Disabled Persons' Transport Advisory Committee to the Government's review of the disabled persons' parking card scheme.

David Jamieson: We are currently finalising our response to the DPTAC recommendations. We aim to make a statement to the House shortly.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of parking enforcement notices were not paid due to inaccuracy of information provided by the DVLA in each of the last five years.

David Jamieson: The information requested is held neither centrally nor by local government.

London Traffic

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of road in London have been closed to through traffic since 1997.

John Spellar: Roads are closed to traffic, either temporarily or permanently, for a variety of reasons by the police or the local traffic authorities. There is no central record of such closures.

Road Safety Improvements

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of urban road have been given safety improvements since 1997.

John Spellar: The information requested is not held centrally.

Strategic Rail Authority

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what review of the Strategic Rail Authority his Department has carried out which (a) was required under the terms of the Transport Act 2000 and (b) has been required by any subsequent changes to legislation.

David Jamieson: None. It has been normal practice for an executive non-departmental public body to be reviewed every five years. The SRA assumed its full powers on 1 February 2001.

Train Safety Incidents

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list (a) the location and (b) the number of major train safety incidents in each year since 1992.

David Jamieson: The Health and Safety Executive have provided the following list of major railway accidents since 1992. A major accident has been defined as those where either the Health and Safety Commission directed the Health and Safety Executive to produce a special report or where the Commission (with the consent of the Secretary of State) directed a public inquiry.
	
		
			 Date Location 
		
		
			 15 October 1994 Cowden 
			 31 January 1995 Ais Gill 
			 8 March 1990 Rickerscote 
			 8 August 1996 Watford Junction 
			 4 February 1997 Bexley 
			 19 September 1997 Southall 
			 5 October 1999 Ladbroke Grove 
			 17 October 2000 Hatfield 
			 28 February 2001 Great Heck 
			 10 May 2002 Potters Bar 
		
	
	Comprehensive railway safety data and analysis can also be found in the Chief Inspector of Railways Annual Reports on Railway Safety, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.

TREASURY

Annuities

Phil Sawford: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps the Government has taken to ensure that consumers who are considering buying an annuity have clear information about all the options available to them.

Ruth Kelly: Since 1 September annuity firms have been required, by Financial Services Authority (FSA) rules, to draw to the attention of their customers their right to exercise the Xopen market option", that is to say to shop around among annuity providers.
	The FSA has at the same time introduced a fact sheet for distribution by firms that explains the importance of choosing the right type of annuity and shopping around for good value, and provides help with exercising those choices.
	This fact sheet also draws attention to other FSA fact sheets and guides for those approaching retirement and contemplating the purchase of an annuity.

Equitable Life

Michael Spicer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to publish the Penrose report into Equitable Life.

Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Colchester (Mr. Russell) on 15 October 2002, Official Report, column 608W.

Musical Instruments

Bob Russell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much he estimates will be raised in the current financial year from the levying of value-added tax on musical instruments.

John Healey: The lack of reliable data means it is not possible to estimate accurately the revenue from the levying of VAT on musical instruments.

CABINET OFFICE

Civil Service Pensions

Peter Viggers: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what information was given to retired civil servants prior to the transfer of their pension administration to the private firm Capita; and how many complaints have been received about (a) the change and (b) the manner in which the change was effected.

Douglas Alexander: Civil Service pensions have been paid through the private sector since the former Paymaster Agency was privatised in April 1997. The contract with Paymaster (1836) Ltd. expired on 30 September 2002 and, following a competitive procurement process, a new contract was awarded to Capita Hartshead.
	As part of the procurement process, Cabinet Office consulted the Civil Service Pensioners' Alliance, the Civil Service Retirement Fellowship and the Council of Civil Service Unions. Cabinet Office also consulted pensioners at local branch meetings of the Alliance and the Fellowship. As a result of feedback from pensioners' groups and others, Cabinet Office was able to include a number of improvements in the new contract as well as tighten the performance standards.
	All pensioners were advised of the change before Capita Hartshead paid their first instalment of pension. Letters to pensioners explained that:
	Cabinet Office had appointed Capita Hartshead to pay their pensions;
	they would get the same amount of pension on the same day of the month as before;
	their pensions would continue to be paid from public funds;
	Cabinet Office continue to be the managers of the Civil Service pension schemes; and
	Capital Hartshead abide by the Data abide by the Data Protection Act.
	The letters were sent to the 550,000 pensioners in batches from 20 September, as soon as the live data, with all the details required, was available for use by Capita Hartshead. It would have been premature to make an announcement before data had transferred successfully from Paymaster, acceptance testing had been completed and a Permit to Operate issued. If these processes had not been completed successfully, pension payments would continue to have been made by Paymaster at least in the short-term.
	Cabinet Office has received 27 inquiries from pensioners about the change of provider, of which nine were complaints about the manner in which the change was effected.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Non-stipendiary Ministers

David Taylor: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment the Church Commissioners have made of the need for new ordained non-stipendiary ministers to succeed all ministers who are likely to retire in the next 10 years.

Stuart Bell: No assessment has been made within those parameters, nor is there an express strategy for attracting NSMs. However, there continues to be an expansion in the number of ordained local ministry schemes, and considerable effort is being devoted to increasing vocations generally to all types of licensed ministry.

Clergy Pensions

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, if he will make a statement on the level of pensions of clergy.

Stuart Bell: Clergy in office receive a stipend and are housed. When they retire, they have to meet the costs of their own housing, but they receive a pension from the state as well as that provided by the Church's clergy pension scheme. The basis for determining the benefits provided by the latter—a lump sum at retirement plus a pension—was designed to take into account all of these factors. The full service pension is currently #10,693 per annum and the retirement lump sum is #32,079.

House of Lords Attendance Costs

Chris Bryant: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, how much bishops' attendance in the House of Lords has cost the Church Commissioners each year since 1997.

Stuart Bell: Bishops claim reimbursement of their costs in respect of attendance at the House of Lords directly from that body. There is no cost to the Church Commissioners.

VAT (Repairs and Maintenance)

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners, if he will make a statement on discussions with European partners on obtaining a reduced rate of value added tax on repairs and maintenance of church buildings.

Stuart Bell: The Churches Main Committee will be represented on the delegation I am leading to Brussels. The committee has made a submission to the European Commission urging that the rate of VAT on the repair and maintenance of listed places of worship be reduced to 5 per cent. I welcome the Chancellor of the Exchequer's indications of support from the UK Government for this case and the churches have discussed their submission with HM Treasury who I understand are preparing the Government's own representations on this matter.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Domestic Violence

Norman Lamb: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what research has been carried out by his Department into the impact of dispersal and settlement patterns on the cost of providing services in rural areas as part of the local government formula grant review.

Nick Raynsford: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my honourable friend the Member for Brigg and Goole (Mr. Cawsey) on 4 November 2002, Official Report, column 49–50W.

Emergency Fire Cover (Bedford)

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many Bedford self-propelled pumps were available for emergency fire cover in each year since 1972.

Nick Raynsford: Information about the period 1972 to 1990 is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The current arrangements for an emergency stockpile of vehicles were started in 1991 when the vehicles were concentrated at Marchington. At that time there were 1037 useable vehicles for England and Wales. An additional 116 vehicles were added in 1994 from Scotland. There are currently 1027 vehicles including the 116 for Scotland.

Exchange Flags, Liverpool

Louise Ellman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what arrangements he has entered into with the Walton Group to ensure that the agreement to recover Government grant in respect of Exchange Flags, Liverpool, will be implemented in full;
	(2)  whether the out of court settlement with the Walton Group in relation to Exchange Flags, Liverpool, included the payment of interest charges; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  if he will ensure that the monies to be recovered from the Walton Group in respect of Exchange Flags, Liverpool, are invested in Liverpool City Centre.

Tony McNulty: English Partnerships, acting as agent for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, has secured a first legal charge over the Exchange Buildings, which is owned by the Walton Group. In the event that the Walton Group do not honour its commitment, EP will enforce the security.
	The City Grant agreement made no provision for an automatic legal entitlement to interest. We believe that the settlement represents a satisfactory outcome, which avoided further legal costs. There is however, provision within the agreed settlement terms for interest to accrue under certain circumstances.
	I am conscious that the original City Grant was provided to assist the regeneration of Liverpool City Centre. I am therefore looking at how this original intention can be best fulfilled.

Homelessness

Linda Perham: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the emotional strain on families of long-term homelessness.

Barbara Roche: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister recognises that the experience of homelessness can place families under emotional strain, particularly when they are placed in bed and breakfast hotels. This is why we are investing #125 million this year to tackle homelessness more effectively. This includes helping local authorities develop new approaches that tackle the problems that are making and keeping them homeless.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has also commissioned research which will explore the range and type of support needs of homeless families and approaches to meeting these support needs. We are expecting to publish the research in late summer 2003.

Homelessness

Lynne Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what additional housing has been funded to enable local authorities to meet their additional responsibilities under the Homelessness Act 2002.

Barbara Roche: The Homelessness Act places new duties on local authorities and, together with the Priority Need Order, extends the priority groups whom local authorities have a statutory duty to help. Affordable housing is an important part in tackling homelessness that is why we have doubled the resources available for housing since 1997 and will be increasing investment by a further 1.4 billion over the next three years. However, as we made clear in 'More than a roof', the provision of affordable housing will not solve homelessness on its own.
	Investment of 125 million this year, together with changes to Housing Benefit subsidies, is helping local authorities to meet this commitment. It will also support new approaches that help people tackle the problems that are making and keeping
	them homeless.

Local Government Finance

Norman Lamb: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what account he has taken of the extra cost of providing services in rural areas in the local government formula grant review.

Nick Raynsford: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my honourable friend the Member for Brigg and Goole (Mr. Cawsey) on 4 November 2002, Official Report, column 49W.

Local Government Finance

Edward Leigh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what account he has taken of the cost of providing services in rural areas in the local government formula grant review.

Nick Raynsford: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my honourable friend the Member for Brigg and Goole (Mr. Cawsey) on 4 November 2002, Official Report, column 49W.

Local Government Finance

Edward Leigh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of rural deprivation in the local government formula grant review.

Nick Raynsford: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my honourable friend the Member for Brigg and Goole (Mr. Cawsey) on 4 November 2002, Official Report, column 52W.

Local Government Finance

Edward Leigh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what impact changes in the local government formula grant will have on public services in West Lincolnshire.

Nick Raynsford: We will announce the new system for distributing formula grant, including detailed grant allocations for individual authorities, at the time of the provisional local government finance settlement which we expect to be around the start of December. Once the Government has allocated its grant, decisions about budgets and services are primarily for local councils to make. However, we have already guaranteed that no authority will face a cut in grant next year on a like for like basis, and we hope to do better than that when we announce the actual floors and ceilings scheme as part of the provisional settlement.

Local Government Finance

Edward Leigh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what research was done by his Department into the impact of dispersal and settlement patterns on the cost of providing services in rural areas as part of the local government formula grant review.

Nick Raynsford: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my honourable friend the Member for Brigg and Goole (Mr. Cawsey) on 4 November 2002, Official Report, columns 49–50W.

Local Government Finance

Norman Lamb: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what assessment he has made of rural deprivation in the local government formula grant review.

Nick Raynsford: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my honourable friend the Member for Brigg and Goole (Mr. Cawsey) on 4 November 2002, Official Report, column 52W.

Neighbourhood Renewal

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what the estimated (a) date, (b) cost to his Department and (c) cost to other Government bodies is of the incorporation of the neighbourhood wardens and street wardens into a new Neighbourhood Renewal Unit funding channel.

Barbara Roche: The incorporation of the neighbourhood and street wardens into a new Neighbourhood Renewal funding stream is already under way. There will be no cost to the office of the Deputy Prime Minister or other Government departments. Indeed, a single wardens funding stream should help to streamline and simplify arrangements both for grant recipients and those administering the programmes.

Prisoners (Housing Resettlement)

Lynne Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, when he will be responding to the Social Exclusion Unit's recommendations on prisoners' housing resettlement needs in their report on reducing re-offending by ex-prisoners.

Barbara Roche: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to my right hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Withington (Mr. Bradley) on 24 October 2002, Official Report, column 495W.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is awaiting the production of the Reducing Re-Offending Action Plan. It will work closely to influence cross-cutting solutions to impact on prisoners' housing resettlement needs before and after release.

EDUCATION

Class Sizes

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was spent through the Standards Fund in 2001–02 by each local education authority on class size reduction.

David Miliband: In 2001–02 just over #156 million revenue and #23 million capital grant was allocated to local education authorities, to reduce infant class sizes for five, six and seven-year-olds to 30 or fewer.
	The following table sets out how much grant was allocated to each local education authority.
	
		Capital and Revenue Allocations 2001–02 -- #
		
			 LEA name 2001 (FY01–02) Capital 2001 (FY01–02) Revenue 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 0 185,526 
			 Barnet 0 146,250 
			 Barnsley 11,568 911,262 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 284,818 349,563 
			 Bedfordshire 372,766 1,815,474 
			 Bexley 10,718 516,693 
			 Birmingham 0 1,266,912 
			 Blackburn and Darwen 154,347 803,038 
			 Blackpool 112,564 392,902 
			 Bolton 67,000 1,158,745 
			 Bournemouth 1,600,491 380,375 
			 Bracknell Forest 60,480 361,463 
			 Bradford 0 2,355,563 
			 Brent 0 126,000 
			 Brighton and Hove 0 752,033 
			 Bristol 0 851,063 
			 Bromley 0 990,000 
			 Buckinghamshire 845,898 2,263,231 
			 Bury 0 1,286,688 
			 Calderdale 2,459 980,476 
			 Cambridgeshire 23,155 1,886,827 
			 Camden 0 78,667 
			 Cheshire 224,677 2,407,878 
			 City of London 0 0 
			 Cornwall 0 1,977,256 
			 Coventry 776 1,262,035 
			 Croydon 0 324,212 
			 Cumbria 72,848 1,584,188 
			 Darlington 37,027 433,500 
			 Derby, City of 0 1,163,438 
			 Derbyshire 2,746,361 3,517,617 
			 Devon 155,212 2,625,967 
			 Doncaster 148,358 907,103 
			 Dorset 417,995 1,836,945 
			 Dudley 0 509,293 
			 Durham 0 2,550,014 
			 Baling 496,959 716,211 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 160,000 1,626,258 
			 East Sussex 121,000 1,457,630 
			 Enfield 9,251 916,206 
			 Essex 156,051 3,337,250 
			 Gateshead 0 237,153 
			 Gloucestershire 269,514 2,467,212 
			 Greenwich 0 186,667 
			 Hackney 0 217,000 
			 Halton 0 664,488 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 0 46,667 
			 Hampshire 320,773 3,596,433 
			 Haringey 0 438,511 
			 Harrow 0 297,000 
			 Hartlepool 0 231,729 
			 Havering 143,160 559,572 
			 Herefordshire 90,478 586,075 
			 Hertfordshire 0 3,298,000 
			 Hillingdon 0 672,162 
			 Hounslow 0 355,500 
			 Isle of Wight 16,787 384,632 
			 Isles of Scilly 0 0 
			 Islington 0 0 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 0 0 
			 Kent 1,133,432 2,822,425 
			 Kingston upon Hull 0 673,625 
			 Kingston upon Thames 1,459,978 971,325 
			 Kirklees 167,574 1,960,159 
			 Knowsley 0 471,750 
			 Lambeth 0 135,333 
			 Lancashire 361,887 4,753,165 
			 Leeds 0 2,998,906 
			 Leicester City 124,000 773,743 
			 Leicestershire 522,032 2,481,575 
			 Lewisham 0 311,918 
			 Lincolnshire 1,865,542 2,115,816 
			 Liverpool 85,000 611,573 
			 Luton 1,987 650,173 
			 Manchester 0 1,645,352 
			 Medway 0 655,853 
			 Merton 482,128 862,441 
			 Middlesbrough 0 285,459 
			 Milton Keynes 0 488,620 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 1,000 932,510 
			 Newham 0 361,667 
			 Norfolk 552,587 3,324,266 
			 North East Lincolnshire 37,321 646,908 
			 North Lincolnshire 0 807,883 
			 North Somerset 155,587 480,253 
			 North Tyneside 0 523,833 
			 North Yorkshire 95,000 2,380,694 
			 Northamptonshire 441,345 2,077,400 
			 Northumberland 11,275 1,185,963 
			 Nottingham City 0 732,510 
			 Nottinghamshire 181,250 3,471,302 
			 Oldham 22,373 1,042,829 
			 Oxfordshire 338,658 1,406,290 
			 Peterborough 0 640,120 
			 Plymouth 0 833,071 
			 Poole 34,514 381,438 
			 Portsmouth 351,000 461,853 
			 Reading 4,900 277,100 
			 Redbridge 85,000 565,598 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 39,146 560,628 
			 Richmond Upon Thames 769,280 384,750 
			 Rochdale 0 1,160,250 
			 Rotherham 85,050 860,625 
			 Rutland 78,568 157,250 
			 Salford 0 977,499 
			 Sandwell 0 1,159,622 
			 Sefton 24,924 1,156,452 
			 Sheffield 114,000 1,055,096 
			 Shropshire 4,000 1,039,816 
			 Slough 0 259,268 
			 Solihull 3,750 942,163 
			 Somerset 283,786 2,075,063 
			 South Gloucestershire 122,457 1,297,950 
			 South Tyneside 2,300 497,250 
			 Southampton 0 417,461 
			 Southend on Sea 0 414,375 
			 Southwark 315,875 279,472 
			 St. Helens 91,393 541,875 
			 Staffordshire 183,800 2,672,217 
			 Stockport 6,800 1,355,407 
			 Stockton on Tees 0 799,850 
			 Stoke on Trent 0 1,023,721 
			 Suffolk 261,000 819,328 
			 Sunderland 0 367,625 
			 Surrey 432,794 2,523,980 
			 Sutton 0 618,750 
			 Swindon 87,950 806,650 
			 Tameside 100,708 1,087,696 
			 Telford and Wrekin 0 680,000 
			 Thurrock 0 251,596 
			 Torbay 352,506 353,813 
			 Tower Hamlets 0 0 
			 Trafford 68,030 590,750 
			 Wakefield 64,326 1,444,546 
			 Walsall 0 639,625 
			 Waltham Forest 190,000 176,759 
			 Wandsworth 0 305,667 
			 Warrington 264,000 699,125 
			 Warwickshire 143,685 2,151,704 
			 West Berkshire 235,813 522,622 
			 West Sussex 27,662 1,406,750 
			 Westminster 0 16,333 
			 Wigan 2,429 1,440,750 
			 Wiltshire 4,781 1,890,846 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 129,249 506,263 
			 Wirral 393,000 726,028 
			 Wokingham 484,500 473,317 
			 Wolverhampton 107,000 764,575 
			 Worcestershire 132,500 1,731,457 
			 York 0 621,562 
			  
			 Total England 23,255,924 156,159,421

Comprehensive Spending Reviews

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the role of comprehensive spending reviews in enabling local education authorities and others to plan expenditure over the longer term.

David Miliband: The spending review 2002 set out the resources that the Government would be making available for education over the three years 2003–04 to 2005–06. The allocation of general funding to each local education authority, taking account of the increases from SR2002, and the new local authority funding system, will be announced by early December. Those allocations will set a trend for local education authorities for the next three years, and we will work with local education authorities to encourage them to deliver three-year budgets for their schools. These will be firm budgets for 2003–04, but will be indicative for 2004–05 and 2005–06 because of the impact of changes in pupil numbers and other data.

Exam Grades

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list, by subject, the adjustments made by the Examination Boards' accountable officers to the grade boundaries recommended by principal examiners in (a) 2001 and (b) each preceding year for which the information is available.

David Miliband: The Government do not hold the information requested. This is a matter for the awarding bodies.

School Standards Grant

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which schools have moved between bands for the purposes of School Standards Grant in each of the last two years as a result of a change in pupil numbers, showing in each case the increase or decrease in the school budget and the date on which the change took effect.

David Miliband: Local education authorities (LEAs) are responsible for paying School Standards Grant (SSG) to individual schools on the basis of a central grant received from the Department. The format of LEAs' financial returns would mean that providing the required information would incur disproportionate cost.

Teaching Assistants

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  if he plans to limit the number of hours per week that a pupil should be (a) taught and (b) supervised by a teaching assistant;
	(2)  what plans he has to limit the subjects which can be taught by advanced teaching assistants.

David Miliband: The Government's proposals on developing the role of support staff, which were published for consultation in October, include proposals which would for the first time provide a regulatory framework to underpin the involvement of support staff in the teaching and learning process. These are based on the key principles that qualified teachers must have overall responsibility for effective teaching and learning, and that there must always be a clear system of leadership and supervision by a qualified teacher to ensure high standards of teaching and learning. Provided those conditions are met, it is proposed that determining what should be delegated should be primarily a matter for the professional judgment of headteachers and qualified teachers rather than for rigid national demarcation. The draft Education (Teaching Work and Registration) (England) Regulations 2002 do not include proposed limits on the hours or subjects that a pupil should be either taught or supervised by a teaching assistant. The draft regulations provide that teaching assistants may only undertake a list of Xspecified teaching work" under a system of supervision determined by a qualified teacher using his or her professional judgment. Qualified teachers will remain responsible and accountable for the quality of teaching and learning in their classrooms.

Technology Colleges Trust

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans he has to ensure that the Technology Colleges Trust has the resources to support the proposed expansion of the specialist schools programme.

David Miliband: The Department provides annual grant-in-aid to the Technology Colleges Trust to support the specialist schools programme. As in the past, we will consider the level of resources required for this in the context of the expansion of the specialist schools programme.

Trainee Teachers

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent assessment he has made of progress toward his Department's targets for the recruitment of trainee teachers in 2002, broken down by subject.

David Miliband: Provisional figures published today by the Teacher Training Agency show that 31,261 people have been recruited to courses of initial teacher training in England in 2002–03, 2,067 more than in 2001–02. This third successive annual rise in recruitment vindicates the Government's decision, announced last December, to make 1,900 more training places available this year than in 2001–02.
	The table shows numbers of trainees recruited as a percentage of the total number of training places available by phase and subject. Figures do not include the 1,904 new entrants to the Graduate Teacher Programme so far this year, of whom 935 are training in the priority subjects of mathematics, science, modern languages, technology and English.
	
		2002–03
		
			  ITT recruitment ITT places ITT recruitment as percentage of ITT places 
		
		
			 Primary 14,447 14,000 103 
			 
			 Secondary
			 Mathematics 1,681 1,940 87 
			 English & Drama 2,475 2,350 105 
			 Science 2,648 2,850 93 
			 Modern Foreign 1,733 2,050 85 
			 Languages
			 Total Technology 2,401 2,500 96 
			 History 985 950 104 
			 Geography 1,028 1,100 93 
			 Physical Education 1,324 1,200 110 
			 Art 880 850 104 
			 Music 608 700 87 
			 Religious Education 576 700 82 
			 Citizenship 185 200 93 
			 Other 174 300 58 
			 Secondary Reserve  100  
			 Secondary Total 16,698 17,790 94 
			 Total 31,145 31,790 98 
			 Fast Track 116   
			 Grand Total 31,261 — — 
		
	
	Source:
	Teacher Training Agency ITT Trainee Numbers Census 2002 (Provisional).
	Notes:
	1. The recruitment figures by subject exclude the 116 entrants on the fast track teaching route, attending ITT in 2002–03 as part of the programme. Of these, 29 are train in primary, and 87 in secondary, (8 mathematics, 20 English, 22 science, 16 modern foreign languages, 1 technology, 13 history, 3 geography, 1 physical education, and 3 music).
	2. The 2002–03 ITT target includes a margin of flexibility. The 100 places available under the margin of flexibility is used as a provision for the TTA to Xvire" places between secondary subjects within certain parameters.
	3. Other secondary subjects, includes classics, economics and other social sciences and other subjects.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Local Elections (Turnout)

Simon Hughes: To ask the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what evaluation is being made of the difference between the turnout for local council elections during the last year (a) where there has been a directly elected mayor and (b) where there has not been a directly elected mayor.

Alan Beith: The Electoral Commission monitors turnout at local elections in the UK. There have not yet been full council elections in any area in which a mayoral election has already taken place.

Postal Voting

Kevin Brennan: To ask the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what discussions he has had with the Electoral Commission on more active promotion of postal voting.

Alan Beith: The Electoral Commission is actively engaged in work to raise public awareness of the availability of postal voting.
	A key element of this programme is dedicated activity to promote postal voting across Great Britain in the spring of each year in which there are public elections. In support of this, the Commission will be producing new leaflets about postal voting by December this year, which will be distributed to Electoral Registration Officers and displayed in post offices across Great Britain prior to the elections planned for next spring.
	Information about postal voting is also available from the Commission's website and the Commission published good practice advice to local authorities on local promotion of postal voting and other issues in its October 2002 report XMaking an impact".

HEALTH

Mental Health Act 1983

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many representations he has received with regard to the reform of the Mental Health Act 1983 since the publication of the draft mental health Bill.

Jacqui Smith: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Vale of York (Miss Anne Mclntosh) on 29 October 2002, Official Report, column 750W.

National Service Framework for Diabetes

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to publish the national service framework for diabetes.

David Lammy: We will be making an announcement on the publication of the national service framework delivery strategy for diabetes shortly and would hope to do so by way of a written ministerial statement. I shall make sure that my hon. Friend receives a copy.